Five Aussie films to get world premieres at Sydney Film Festival

Two Australian films will feature in competition at the Sydney Film Festival, while five local features will get their world premieres.

Dead Europe, directed by Tony Krawitz, and Lore directed by Cate Shortland will compete In Competition, which carries a $60,000 prize.

For both films the festival will be their world premiere, along with other local features Not Suitable For Children, Mabo and Being Venice.

Krawitz’s Dead Europe is written by Louise Fox, adapted from a Christos Tsiolkas novel of the same name. It is produced by Liz Watts of Porchlight Films and Oscar-winner Emile Sherman of See Saw Films. The film is about an Australian photographer who visits his ancestral homeland of Greece after his father’s death. It will be Dead Europe’s world premiere.

Also in competition is Lore, Cate Shortland’s first film since debut Somersault. Again produced by Liz Watts, the film is an adaptation by Robin Mukherjee and Shortland of Rachel Seiffert’s book The Dark Room about a young girl who, during WWII, believes her father is a war hero, but after the war discovers he was involved in the Nazi-led genocide.

The announcement of the festival’s line-up will also see three more world premieres of local feature films.

Not Suitable for Children, directed by Oscar-nominated Peter Templeman, written by Michael Lucas and produced by Jodi Matterson, will open the festival on Wednesday 6 June at the State Theatre.

A special presentation of Mabo, the story of Aboriginal land activist Eddie Mabo will also have its world premiere. While running out of competition and in the special presentations section of the festival, it will also lead an indigenous program that sees the festival partner with Mabo’s production company Blackfella Films, to curate a selection of indigenous stories from both Australia and abroad.

Another Australian film Being Venice will screening within the festival, as a world premiere, but outside of competition. It is directed and written by Miro Bilbrough, and produced by Karen Radzyner and Michael Wrenn. The cast includes Alice McConnell as Venice and Garry McDonald as Arthur.

Five of seven of the documentaries competing for the Foxtel Australian Documentary Prize will have their World Premiere at the festival and three of the 10 Dendy Award for Short Films finalists will also have their World Premieres.